Young Carers

Cornwall's Multi Agency Strategy for Young Carers

Cornwall's Multi Agency Strategy for Young Carers 2014-16 is currently under review and a new strategy is being developed with a completion date for the end of 2017.

Supporting children and young people that care for family members

Young carers can be found in all communities and often find themselves excluded from personal and social opportunities, including their education. This can impact on their development, ambitions and potential to achieve.

Children and young people who are carers have the same rights and access to the same opportunities as all children and young people. They should be able to learn, achieve, develop friendships and enjoy positive, healthy childhoods just like other children.

Young carers tell us that they value their caring roles and are proud of the contribution they are able to make in their families. All too often, however, children and young people become carers because someone in their family has significant unmet care needs arising from ill health, disability, mental health needs or substance misuse.

In some cases young carers have assumed a level of responsibility that no child should be expected to take on. This can have serious knock-on effects on schooling and other key areas of their lives. Caring should not have an negative effect on children’s well-being and outcomes.

The strategy was informed by a range of good practice examples in Cornwall and other local authorities. We also used a wealth of guidance and good practice provided by national charities, in particular the Children’s Society. It is also underpinned by Cornwall’s Early Help and Raising Aspiration and Achievement Strategies.

The Cornwall Young Carers’ Strategy 2014-16 was challenging and set out how we planned to bring about improvements in the way services work together to identify young carers and improve their outcomes.

The priorities for change were informed by listening to young carers and their parents, learning from Cornwall’s 2010–13 Strategy, and were agreed by a range of agencies and professionals that work with children and families, across the statutory and voluntary sector.

The strategy set out what actions needed to be taken to achieve our priorities and identified the resources needed to make change happen.

Cornwall's Multi Agency Strategy for Young Carers

Cornwall's Multi Agency Strategy for Young Carers 2014-16 is currently under review and a new strategy is being developed with a completion date for the end of 2017.

Young carers can be found in all communities and often find themselves excluded from personal and social opportunities, including their education. This can impact on their development, ambitions and potential to achieve.

Children and young people who are carers have the same rights and access to the same opportunities as all children and young people. They should be able to learn, achieve, develop friendships and enjoy positive, healthy childhoods just like other children.

Young carers tell us that they value their caring roles and are proud of the contribution they are able to make in their families. All too often, however, children and young people become carers because someone in their family has significant unmet care needs arising from ill health, disability, mental health needs or substance misuse.

In some cases young carers have assumed a level of responsibility that no child should be expected to take on. This can have serious knock-on effects on schooling and other key areas of their lives. Caring should not have an negative effect on children’s well-being and outcomes.

The strategy was informed by a range of good practice examples in Cornwall and other local authorities. We also used a wealth of guidance and good practice provided by national charities, in particular the Children’s Society. It is also underpinned by Cornwall’s Early Help and Raising Aspiration and Achievement Strategies.

The Cornwall Young Carers’ Strategy 2014-16 was challenging and set out how we planned to bring about improvements in the way services work together to identify young carers and improve their outcomes.

The priorities for change were informed by listening to young carers and their parents, learning from Cornwall’s 2010–13 Strategy, and were agreed by a range of agencies and professionals that work with children and families, across the statutory and voluntary sector.

The strategy set out what actions needed to be taken to achieve our priorities and identified the resources needed to make change happen.